ʀᴏᴏғᴛᴏᴘ ғɪɢʜᴛ - ɴᴄᴛ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍ

94

seorin couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. her head was pounding and she did feel tired but for some reason she just couldn't sleep.

beside her, jisung was fast asleep. he was even snoring but that wasn't a problem for her.

she sat up on her bed and sighed. looking around her room, noticing the small mess her and jisung had made because of unpacking. then her eyes darted towards the clock. 2 am.

she stepped out of the covers and shivered at the cold air. she walked over to grab one of jisung's hoodies to wear over her t-shirt. feeling warmer and more at ease, she finally stepped out of her room and went straight to hyunjin's, knowing he would be awake.

she opened the door and found him struggling to wrap christmas gifts. she went inside, "want some help?"
he looked up at the sound of her voice and sighed, "how do you even wrap something.. this is so difficult."

she sat down beside him on his rug and took the box he handed out to her, "it's simple- also a comic book? who's this for?"
"its for your boyfriend"
"damn.."

"why're you awake, anyways?" hyunjin asked, getting up to retrieve the other gifts he had gotten
"i couldn't sleep. where's the tap- hey! don't throw it!"

he ignored her and sat down again with a huff, "I'm hungry" he said, patting his stomach
"there's some cookie dough in the fridge if you wanna get in trouble with mom tomorrow."
"mmm," he contemplated for a while, "let's order pizza"

seorin's head shot up. confused, she asked, "at 2 am? do places deliver at 2 am?"

her younger sibling groaned, deciding to leave the topic of hunger
"how's heejin noona?"
"please don't tell me you still-"
"oh my god, i literally don't."
"mhm. then who's this necklace for?" she asked, suggestively wiggling her eyebrows

the boy said nothing but the tips of his ears grew red as he turned away with a goofy smile on his face. but his sister knew that look all too well.

"park hyunjin, do you have a crush on someone?!"
"dude, literally, shut up."
"oh my god-"
"DON'T TELL MOM"
"stop yelling, she'll wake up-"
"her room is like countries away"
"she has supersonic hearing, though-"

"why are you kids talking about your mother like that?" the voice of their father alerted them both as chills ran down their spine at the stern tone.

hyunjae was at the door with his arms crossed, observing his kids attempting to wrap presents together while bickering as always.

"dad, why are you even awake?"

he shrugged, "i was hungry. I'm making hot chocolate, do you want some?"
"uh sure?"

he nodded and left the room, leaving the two confused. hyunjin motioned for seorin to continue wrapping the gifts while teaching him.

"I still haven't gotten over the fact that you like someone. this conversation isn't over." she warned. he just waved it off and told her to keep wrapping.

ﾟ+*:;;:* *:;;:*+ﾟ

jisung woke up due to rustling besides him, opening his eyes slightly to see seorin getting under the covers. he shifted closer to her, hugging her waist and resting his head on her shoulder and intertwining their legs.

"where did you go?" his voice was deeper than usual, making her feel butterflies in the pit of her stomach
"i couldn't sleep. did i wake you up?"

he shook his head against her shoulder. humming as he took in her presence in the moment.
"you smell good," he mumbled against her, breath fanning the hair at the back of her neck, creating a tickling sensation

"i mean, i am wearing the hoodie of a guy with amazing cologne," she giggled, "let's go back to sleep, hm? it's Christmas Eve tomorrow"

she didn't hear him say anything, nor did she feel him bopping his head in a yes or no manner. instead, she heard light snores fill the air after a few minutes. oddly, the sound lulled her to sleep instead of distrupting it.

she woke up that morning, feeling cold. she spread her arms around in hopes of finding the body that was the source of her warmth but instead she was met with her cold sheets. she then tried to find her blanket but gave up on that as well, not able to find it.

she groaned as she sat up in bed to find her blanket of the ground and jisung nowhere to be found. grumbling, she got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up and start her day.

jisung was awake already, on a walk with her father outside who had also gotten up early. the two bonded over football before, now it was hyunjae telling the younger about his girlfriend's childhood.

"when i was even younger than you, i knew i wanted a family. when seonghwa and hyunjin were born, i was happy." he paused and smiled, "but the happiness i felt when seorin was born was unbeatable. she's my only daughter, you know. i was honestly always worried about the reality that she would find someone one day and leave us behind."

"honestly, she made me grow closer to my wife. i realised how my wife had to leave behind her family too when she married me, it's a big deal. realising that one day seorin would have to do the same.. " hyunjae sighed, "but I'm glad she's with someone like you, though"

"someone like me..?" jisung questioned, not really understanding his statement. the elder just nodded, "you're a really nice person, son. and I don't doubt your love for her, you made it obvious even the first time i met you that you like her"

jisung looked at his feet, ears burning red in embarrassment. a shy grin found a way on his face as he continued to listen to the man he found himself looking up to.

"your parents did an amazing job raising you, jisung," hyunjae patted the boy's shoulders which tensed at the mention of his parents
"i, uh, actually don't really have parents.."
"oh, i am so sorry.. i didn't know."
"its okay," jisung shook his head and smiled reassuringly.

he felt a calming sensation, knowing seorin didn't disclose this secret to the people closest to her. it meant a lot to him.

"my mother passed away when i was around 6 and my father was abusive so me and my sister left," he didn't go into much detail, feeling a little uncomfortable talking about it but he wanted to.

he wanted to face the truth of what happened instead of hiding it. it felt like he was being dishonest, not with others but mostly himself. as if not talking about it and pretending it never happened would somehow equate to it never being happened at all.

"it's good you left the environment that wasn't good for you," seorin's father said, "you're really a brave person for enduring the challenges life threw at you at a young age. i hope you've found your people now, though. sometimes, found families end up developing stronger bonds than families related by blood."

its not even christmas for them and we're all already in 2024 😭😭